(1) Technical Field
This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for the height adjustment and installation of a slidable and/or raisable roof member to be fitted into an automobile.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
For visual and streamline flow reasons, it is important that a sliding and/or raisable automobile roof member equipped with a surrounding seal shall be so fitted in a roof opening of the automobile that any convex curvature in the longitudinal and transverse directions shall accurately coincide with the curvature of the fixed main body of the automobile roof surrounding the opening. Since the roof member itself is installed separately from the other parts of the roof construction, such as a roof frame, guide bars, raising elements and actuating components, which in more recent roof constructions are combined into one installation unit (as shown for example in DE-OS No. 32 21 487), special measures are required which shall enable the roof member on the preassembled actuating unit to be adjusted into alignment with the fixed main body of the automobile roof. In this connection it is of particular importance, apart from the correspondence of curvature, that the roof member shall bear tightly against the forward edge of the roof opening in order to eliminate all manufacturing tolerances which, in the case of a roof member inserted into the roof opening without forward bearing contact and screwed to guiding and raising elements, could lead, during actuation of the roof member, to the roof member not bearing in the closed position of its actuating elements tightly against the forward edge of the roof opening, and jamming against the rear edge of the roof opening during pivotal movements of the roof member.
To overcome these roof member adjustment problems, ever since sliding roofs with a rigid roof member have been used, numerous possible ways for the aligned adjustment of the roof members of automobiles have been proposed.
In one widely used construction (as disclosed in DE-PS No. 16 55 543), on a roof member reinforcement which forms one unit with the roof member, a threaded plate is permanently fixed in the adjustment range in a recess of the roof member reinforcement. This threaded plate possesses a threaded bore of larger diameter at the centre and two threaded bores of smaller diameter at equal distances from the threaded bore. A countersunk screw having a flat head engages into the central bore the head of the screw in turn bearing against a guide plate which serves as a guide for the sliding roof member. This plate possesses, beneath the slot of the countersunk screw, an opening for the passage of a tool for turning that screw. The guide plate is detachably connected with two screws to the threaded plate at the roof member insert. For the alignment adjustment of the roof member the countersunk screw is turned from the interior of the vehicle until the roof member surface is flush with the main roof surface. Thereafter the roof member is pressed with its forward edge against the forward edge of the roof opening and then, if necessary, is again adjusted in the stated manner. While retaining the bearing pressure, the two fixing screws are now tightened up. In doing this the guide plate is pressed against the flat head of the countersunk screw, thus producing a firm connection between guide plate and roof member. This adjustment operation is carried out and if necessary repeated in all intended adjustment regions on the roof member. It is obvious that this known height adjustment is very time-consuming.
For the height adjustment of the rear region of a sliding roof member it is known (from DE-PS No. 25 32 187, for example) to provide laterally on the roof member reinforcement downwardly cranked angles, which bear against the inner faces of guide blocks. The guide blocks are connected, via pins of a rear guide sliding in the slots of the guide block, with the guide rails on the roof frame. In the region of the downwardly cranked angles, the guide block is furnished with an elongate hole in a perpendicular direction. An adjusting screw engages through this elongate hole into a threaded bore of the angle. By this connection of the roof member with the guide block, the aligned adjustment is carried out on each side of the roof member, which again is a time-consuming operation.
A feature common to all these known proposals for adjusting the roof member to the main roof surface surrounding it is that the operations are cumbersome and very time-consuming, because at the time of the installation of the roof member four adjustment operations have to be carried out, requiring a repeated alternation of adjustment operation inside the vehicle and check of the flush alignment of the roof member and main roof member surface from outside.